Garlic Soup with Mushrooms and Chive Oil

Don’t be scared off by the amount of garlic in this soup. Yes, the number of cloves is way up there, somewhere around 40, but the resulting flavor is smooth, mellow garlic without any bite. The texture is just as enticing, creamy and rich without any cream or coconut milk added.

Organosulfur compounds[1] that show potential for preventing cancer can be found in garlic and leeks. Both of these sulfur-rich veggies are swirling around in this delicious soup, plus a bright-green drizzle of chive oil.

Cooking alliums does break down the sulfur compounds somewhat, making them less potent, but slicing garlic and onions at least ten minutes before cooking makes them more resistant to heat. Keep this in mind when you begin prepping the recipe.

While the garlic flavor in this soup is mellow, the chive oil has a real kick. A little bit of this intensely aromatic oil goes a long way. Drizzle some in this soup and use the rest throughout the week for sautéing, making salad dressing and drizzling over just about anything.

Servings: 4

Time in the Kitchen: 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients:

2 bunches of chives, roughly chopped (about 1.5 ounces/42 g)

1 cup extra virgin olive oil (240 ml)

3 whole heads of garlic

15 raw cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced in half

12 to 16 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced (340 to 450 g)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (30 g)

1 leek, thinly sliced

3 1/2 cups chicken stock (820 ml)

Salt and pepper

Instructions:

In a blender, purée the chives with the olive oil until the chives are very finely chopped and the consistency of the oil is fairly smooth. Be patient, this will take several minutes.

In two batches, strain the oil through a fine sieve. Let the oil drip out on its own; don’t push down on the solids or the chive oil will be cloudy. Discard the solids. Add a pinch of salt to the oil. Set aside. (The oil will keep for at least a week in the fridge.)

Preheat oven to 400 °F (204 °C).

Peel off any loose layers of white skin on the three heads of garlic then slice the top off to expose the tops of the cloves. Drizzle a little olive oil on top of the heads. Season with salt and pepper. Wrap each head in foil or parchment paper (tie parchment up with a string) or put them in a tightly covered baking dish.

Put the heads of garlic in the oven and roast until the cloves are tender and easy to pierce with a fork, about 35 minutes. When the garlic has cooled, squeeze the roasted cloves into a small bowl.

Spread the mushrooms out on a baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil and lightly season with salt and pepper.

Put the pan of mushrooms in the oven at the same time as the heads of garlic, roasting until soft, about 20 minutes. Stir the mushrooms occasionally.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the leek and cook until soft.

Add the roasted garlic and raw garlic cloves and sauté for a few minutes.

Add chicken stock. Cover and simmer until the raw garlic cloves are very tender, about 20 minutes.

Working in batches, purée the soup in a blender until smooth.

Heap mushrooms in the middle of each soup bowl and drizzle in chive oil.